Monday, December 13, 2004

pink's

Hot Dog Vendor: "What do you want?"
The Dalai Lama: "Make me one with everything."

truthfully, the last time i ate at pink's was after a heavy night at either sit 'n' spin or club f*ck (o los angeles, you know how to name your clubs!), and i saw my math professor sharing a dog with a very pretty young man a la lady and the tramp. but noodlepie's recent post on a search for a hot dog stand in saigon got me thinking about how la's burger shacks and hot dog stands are disappearing. land is pricy, rents are up, and building and health codes are actually being enforced.

i'm annoyed that these walk-up stands are being replaced by noxious drive-throughs of fast food chains (btw, i know i've exclaimed this before, but who the bleep buys kung pao chicken from a drive-through?!). my neighbourhood is dangerous enough--i don't need to add being run down on the street by some guy reaching for a dropped french fry. i don't advocate eating fast food, but it happens, and i happen to enjoy it every once and again. but i don't want to give any money to what spiceblog refers to (with vile, vigor and contempt) as "scottish restaurant", which seem to be popping up all over town at an alarming rate (oh, now would be a nice time to bring up my rant over the i-am-asian website). it has its place/places/even more places but really, it has got to stop supersizing itself. granted, not all food stands are offering better quality than the chains, but some actually do, and most offer character to the city along with personal service for the people. it would an absolute shame to see them go.

oh so back to pink's for a minute. the parking lot is really small, but don't park in the adjacent flower shop's lot. bring some coins because you'll probably need to park at a meter. there will be a line pretty much any time of day or night, but it moves. pink's has a quality dog, i'm told, and i recall it being quite good. it has that "snap" that aficionados look for in the casing, and perhaps it actually tastes like something, even though you can get your hot dog dressed with anything from guacamole, sour cream and tomatoes, to bacon, pastrami, and swiss (no, not all together, although every combination is possible). they've got burgers, too, grilled chicken, tamales, and a veggie dog that's supposed to be really good. me, the next time i go, i think i'd stick to the classic chili-cheese combo, but i might get the 10" stretch, or a polish dog. none of this freaky stuff for me. although the lord of the rings dog sounds interesting. or maybe the martha stewart. hm. the possibilities.

3 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Once building and health codes arrive in Saigon streetfood is finished. OK - long long time away and all that, but it'll come with WTO membership. Give it 20-30 years. And how many documents of streetfood sellers lives will there be?? None. Noodlepie barely scratches the surface of an existence which will, most likely, disappear in our lifetimes.

There is hardly ever a line just before 11 am (When they open/when I drive by most days), which is fun on Sunday if you are hung-over. AND, they have really amazing french fries and the best bbq sauce in town (on a dog, it's the best). Oh wow do I love Pinks. I love your blog, thanks!